Apparatus for stripping food products from a spur plate



A. J. SESTILIO Dec. 16, 1952 APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING FOOD PRODUCTS FROMA SPUR PLATE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1951 INVENTOR. fi/nA T.HTZZ'ORNE'Y;

Dec. 16, 1952 I SESTILIO 2,621,818

APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING FOOD PRODUCTS FROM A SPUR PLATE Filed Jan. 25,1951 3 Sheets$heet 2 Dec. 16, 1952 A. J. $ESTILIO APPARATUS FORSTRIFPING FOOD PRODUCTS FROM A SPUR PLATE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan.25, 1951 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 16, 1952 APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING FOOD PRODUCTS FROM A SPURPLATE Armand J. Sestilio, Bloomfield, N. J assignor to Eskimo PieCorporation, Bloomfield, N. J., a

corporation of Delaware Application January 25, 1951, Serial No. 207,771

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a stripping apparatus and more particularly toan apparatus for stripping food products such as ice cream bars from aspur plate having a plurality of downwardly extending spurs on which thebars are impaled.

During the manufacturing or processing of many types of food products,it is frequently found convenient to mount the food products on what istermed a spur plate so that a plurality of food products may beconveniently handled, transported and otherwise manipulated during thevarious processing operations. Such spur plates usually comprise aplurality of downwardly extending spurs of impaling elements on whichthe food products are impaled. However, the use of such spur platespresents a diificulty in that the food products must be removedtherefrom after the processing operations have been completed, suchremoval operation, being rendered particularly difficult in that thefood products are mass produced at low cost and hence only a smallamount of effort and expense per unit product can be expended for thestripping operation.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide anovel apparatus for quickly and economically stripping a plurality offood products such as ice cream bars from a spur plate on which the barsare impaled.

Briefly described, the specific embodiment of the invention shown in thedrawings comprises a frame adapted to be moved upwardly or downwardly byhydraulic means and a stripper plate slidably mounted for horizontalmovement with respect to the frame, the stripper plate having aplurality of spaced parallel horizontally extending finger elements eachadapted to extend between a pair of adjacent rows of the spurs orimpaling elements of the spur plate. The hydraulic means is actuated soas to move the frame to an upper position at which the stripper platewill be at an elevation above that of the ice cream bars impaled on thespur plate. The stripper plate is then moved horizontally toward thespur and each of the finger elements extend between a respective pair ofadjacent rows of spurs. The hydraulic means is then actuated so as tomove the frame downwardly, thereby also moving the stripper platedownwardly and enabling the finger elements of the stripper plates toengage the ice cream bars so as to force the latter downwardly and offthe spurs, thereby completing the stripping operation. The next spurplate which is to be stripped is then moved into position and the cycleis repeated after the stripper position so as to clear the spur plateduring the upward movement of the frame.

It is to be understood that the specific embodi ment of the inventionshown in the drawings and described in more detail is intended to bemerely illustrative of one of the many forms which the invention maytake in practice and not as limiting the scope of the invention; thelatter is delineated in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus with the movable orsecondary frame in its lower position after the ice cream bars have beenstripped from the spurs, the lower portion of the apparatus being brokenaway since it is conventional and does not form a part of the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view similar to Fig. 1 but showing thesecondary frame in the upper position before the ice cream bars arestripped, the bars being indicated by dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plane view of the apparatus showing the stripper platein its outer position before it has been moved horizontally inwardly soas to directly overlie the ice cream bars, the spur plate not beingshown in this figure for urposes of greater clarity;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the apparatus as seen from theright hand end of the previous figures;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3 andshows in detail the cylinder and piston arrangement for actuating thevertical reciprocal secondary frame; and

Fig. 'l is a series of schematic views showing the successive relativepositions of the stripper plate and the spurs during the strippingoperation.

The apparatus comprises generally a stationary or primary frame A, avertically reciprocal or secondary frame B, a pair of hydraulic means Cfor moving the secondary frame B upwardly or downwardly, a stripperplate slide D slideably mounted on the secondary frame B from horizontalreciprocal movement and a support E for suspending a spur plate F.

In more detail, and referring first to Fig. 6, each of the hydraulicmeans C comprises a cylinder ll having a piston I2 vertically slideabletherein. The cylinder II is fixedly secured to the stationary frame A byany suitable means such as the bracket and lug arrangement indiplate iswithdrawn horizontally back to its initial cated generally at [3. Apiston rod [4 extends downwardly from the piston I2 and through aconventional packing gland I5. The lower end of the piston rod I4 isprovided with a reduced portion I6 which extends through a slot IIformed in a bracket I8. A pair of washer plates I9, are provided withaligned apertures through which the reduced portion I6 extends and theplates I9, 20 engage opposite surfaces of the bracket I8. The lower endof the reduced portion I6 of the piston rod I4 is threaded so as toreceive a nut 2I which serves to retain the assembly comprising elementsI6, I'I, I8, I9 and 20 in fixed assembled relation.

The bracket I8 is secured by any suitable means to a horizontal member22 of the secondary movable frame B. The latter comprises a pair ofspaced. parallel upper horizontal members 23, 24, as best seen in Figs.1, 4 and 5, four vertical members 25, secured at their upper ends to therespective end of the horizontal members 23, 24 by bolts 26, and a pairof transverse lower horizontal members 22 secured to the lower ends ofthe vertical members 25 and each secured to a respective one of thepiston rod I4 in the manner described above with respect to the member22 as shown in detail in Fig. 6.

Each of the cylinders II is provided with a head 28 having an air vent29 communicating between the interior of the cylinder II and theatmosphere so as to prevent pressure or vacuum above the piston I2 asthe latter moves upwardly or downwardly. Each of the cylinders I I isalso provided with a port 33 communicating at one end of the interior ofthe cylinder II below the piston I2 and at its other end to a pipecoupling 3I.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the reference numeral 32 indicates generally aconventional valve mechanism whose inner structural details are wellknown in the art and need not be described. The valve 32 is providedwith a manually operable push button 33. A plurality of fluid conduits34, 35 and 36 are connected to the valve 32. Conduit 34 is connected toa conventional means for supplying oil or other fluid under pressure,said means preferably being a pump (not shown). Conduit 35 extends fromthe valve 32 and is connected at its other end to the coupling 3| of thecylinder II at theleft hand end of the apparatus as viewed in Fig. 1 andconduit 36 is similarly connected to the cylinder II located at theright hand end of the-apparatus.

The push button 33 is normally biased to an outward position whichprevents the fluid under pressure in the conduit 34 from flowing intoconduits 35, 36. Also, at this outward position of the push button 33theconduits 35, 3B are connected to a pressure relief discharge conduit 37which discharges the fluid from the conduits 35, 36 back to the pump orother pres-sure supply source. When the push button 33 is placedinwardly or to the right as viewed in Fig. 5, the mechanism of the valve32 is such that the fluid under pressure will flow. from conduit 34simultaneously into bothconduit 35 and conduit 36, the pressure of thefluid in the latter conduits 35, 36 being equal.

The fluid then flows through the ports and into the cylinder II so as toraise the pistons I2 to their uppermost position within cylinder II.Since the movable or secondary frame B is connected to the piston rodsI4, the frame B will also be moved upwardly, for a purpose to bedescribed below. When it is desired to lower the secondary frame'B, thepush button 33 is pulled inner position shown in Fig. 3.

outwardly or to the left as shown in Fig. 5 so as to cut off the conduit34 and its connecting conduits 35, 36 to the discharge conduit 31,thereby allowing the weight of the frame B to move the pistons I2downwardly, the fluid beneath the pistons I2 flowing through theconduits 35, 36, 3! back to the pressure supply source.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, a horizontal transverse element 38 ofU-shaped cross section is secured to intermediate portions of the righthand pair of vertical frame members 25 and projects forwardly therefromor to the left as viewed in Fig. 5. A similar transverse U-shapedelement 39 is secured to the left hand pair of vertical frame members 25and extends parallel to the element 38. The stripper plate slide Dcomprises at each end a rod 40, M respectively, the rods 46, 4I beingbent into a U-shaped configuration and connected by horizontal braceelement 42. The upper ends of the U-shaped bars 45, 4i are connected tothe respective lower ends thereof by vertical struts 43. The lowerhorizontal portions 48' of the bars 40, 4| extend within the channels ofthe U-shaped transverse elements 33, 39 and are slideable therein so asto enable the entire stripper plate slid'e D to be manually moved fromthe outward position shown in Fig. 5 horizontally inwardly to the inwardposition shown in Fig. 3.

A stripper plate 44 is secured to the upper horizontal portion of theslide D and comprises a plurality of inwardly projecting horizontallyextending finger elements 45 arranged in spaced parallel relation so asto provide slots 46 therebetween, each of the slots 46 being adapted toreceive a row of spurs of the spur plate to be described below.

The spur plate support E comprises a pair of longitudinal horizontalparallel rails 41, 48 mounted on upright supporting rods 49 which inturn are fixedly secured to the stationary frame A.

The spur plate F is of conventional construction and comprises hangerelements 5!] adapted to rest upon the rails 41, 48 and a pair oftransverse struts 5I which may be employed for manual handling for thespur plate F. At its lower horizontal surface the spur plate-F isprovided' with a plurality of downwardly depending spurs or impalingelements 52 arranged in-spaced rows as best seen in cross section inFig. 3.

As best seen in Figs. 1 and 4, the reference numeral 53 indicates aplurality of chutes each mounted beneath a respective one of the spurs52 and leading to a suitable packaging apparatus (not shown) when theice cream bars or other food products may be bagged or otherwisepackaged after being stripped from the spurs-52.

The operations of the apparatus will now be briefly described. A spurplate F having food products impaled on the spurs thereof is mounted onthe rails 47, 58 directly over the chutes 53. The push button 33 is thenactuated so as to cause fluid under pressure to flow from the conduit34, through the valve through conduits 35, 36 and into the cylinders IIbeneath the pistons I2 so as to raise the latter, thereby raising thesecondary frame B from the lower position shown in Fig. 1 to the upperposition shown in Fig. 2. The stripper plate slide D is then manuallymoved in a horizontal direction inwardly from the outer position shownin Fig. 4 to the The finger elements :25 will thereby enter the spacesbetween respective adjacent rowsof spurs 53, the latter extending withinthe slots 46 between the finger elements 4'5. The push button 33 is thenpulled outwardly so as to reduce the fluid pressure heneath the pistons12 and thereby allow the frame B to move downwardly due to its weight.As the frame B moves downwardly, the stripper plate 46 will also movedownwardly so as to engage the upper ends of the ice cream bars or otherfluid products indicated at I in Fig. 2. Continued downward movement ofthe stripper plate 44 causes the ice cream bars I to be stripped or sliddownwardly from the spurs '53, each of the bars I then falling into arespective one of the chutes 53 from whence they are conveyed to thebagging or packaging machine. The stripper spur plate F is then removedand a loaded spur plate is substituted therefor. The stripper plateslide D is then moved outwardly back to the outer position shown in Fig.4 and the push button 33 is depressed so as to repeat the cycle.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is as follows:

1. An apparatus for stripping food products from a spur plate having aplurality of downwardly extending spurs on which the food products areimpaled, said apparatus comprising a primary frame, mounting means onthe primary frame for supporting said spur plate, a secondary frame, apiston means for moving said secondary frame upwardly or downwardly asdesired, a stripper plate, and parallel uideways adapted for slidablymounting said stripper plate on said secondary frame for horizontalmovement, whereby said secondary frame may be first moved upwardly tobring said stripped plate to an elevation above the food productsimpaled on the spurs of said spur plate so that said stripper plate maythen be moved horizontally to a position directly over said foodproducts and said secondary frame and said stripper plate may then bemoved downwardly so as to cause the stripper plate to strip the foodproducts from the spurs.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said piston means formoving said secondary frame upwardly comprises a cylinder connected tothe primary frame, a piston reciprocally mounted therein, meansconnecting said piston to said secondary frame, fluid conduit means forintroducing fluid under pressure to said cylinder to actuate saidpiston, and valve means for controlling the flow of fluid from saidfluid conduit means to said cylinder.

3. An apparatus for stripping food products from a spur plate having aplurality of downwardly extending spurs on which the food products areimpaled, said apparatus comprising a primary frame, mounting means on thprimary frame for supporting said spur plate, a pair of cylinders spacedfrom each other and fixedly secured to said primary frame, a pair ofpistons each vertically reciprocable within a respective one of saidcylinders, a secondary frame, means securing said secondary frame tosaid pistons whereby the vertical position of the latter determines thevertical position of said secondary frame, a stripper plate slidablymounted on said secondary frame for horizontal reciprocal movement, saidstripper plate comprising a plurality of spaced parallel horizontallyextendin finger elements each adapted to extend between a pair ofadjacent rows of spurs of said spur plate, fluid conduit means forintroducing fluid under equal pressure to said cylinders so as toactuate said pistons equally and simultaneously, and valve means forcontrolling the flow of fluid from said fluid conduit means to saidcylinders, whereby said secondary frame may be first moved upwardly tobring said stripper plate to an elevation above the food productsimpaled on the spurs of said stripper plate and said stripper plate maythen be moved'horizontally to a position directly over said foodproductsand said secondary frame and said stripper plate may then be moveddownwardly so as to cause the stripper plate to strip the food productsfrom the spurs.

ARMAND J. SESTILIO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,113,581 Eddy Apr. 12, 19382,303,013 Wenzl, Jr. Nov. 24, 1942

